DTU10e IM CH07.pdf - The Other Terrestrial Planets 7...

The Other Terrestrial Planets 7
Chapter Outline
7-1 Photographs from Mariner 10 and MESSENGER spacecraft reveal Mercury’s
lunarlike surface
7-2 Mercury has a higher percentage of iron than does Earth
7-3 Mercury’s rotation and revolution are coupled
7-4 Mercury’s atmosphere is the thinnest of all terrestrial planets
7-5 The surface of Venus is completely hidden beneath a permanent cloud cover
7-6 The greenhouse effect heats Venus’s surface
7-7 Venus is covered with gently rolling hills, two “continents,” and numerous volcanoes
7-8 Mars’s global features include plains, canyons, craters, and volcanoes
7-9 Although no canals exist on Mars, it does have some curious natural features
7-10 Mars’s interior is less molten than the inside of Earth
7-11 Martian air is thin and often filled with dust
7-12 Surface features indicate that water once flowed on Mars
7-13 Search for microscopic life on Mars continues
7-14 Mars’s two moons look more like potatoes than spheres
7-15 Comparisons of planetary features provide new insights
7-16 Frontiers yet to be discovered
In This Chapter Students Will Discover…
• Mercury, a Sun-scorched planet with dormant volcanoes, a heavily cratered surface, and a
substantial iron core
• Venus, perpetually shrouded in thick, poisonous clouds and mostly covered by gently
rolling hills
• Mars, a red, dusty planet that once had running water on its surface and may still have
liquid water underground
Suggested Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to
1. Compare and contrast the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets in terms of temperature,
pressure, and chemical composition.
2. List the properties that Mercury has in common with the other terrestrial planets and with
the Moon.
3. Compare and contrast the surfaces of Mercury, Mars, and Venus with that of the Earth in
terms of geologic structures and evidence regarding tectonic activity.
4. Describe plausible explanations for the absence of water vapor in the Venusian and
Martian atmospheres.
5. Discuss the contributions of the various spacecraft missions to our understanding of the
terrestrial planets.
6. Discuss the evidence for the existence of water on Mars’s surface in the past and the
location and form of that water today.
7. Compare the magnetic fields of Mercury, Venus, and Mars with that of the Earth.
8. Describe the surface features of Mars revealed by recent missions to the red planet.

The Other Terrestrial Planets
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Teaching Hints and Strategies
This chapter covers the basic physical properties of Mercury, Venus, and Mars. The atmospheres,
surface conditions, geologic activity, magnetic fields, and chemical compositions of these three
planets are discussed. Chapter 7 also describes and explains the similarities and differences of the
terrestrial planets.
As an interesting sidebar on the name of the planet, you might ask students to research
Cytherea, an alternate name for Venus. Cytherea is another name for Aphrodite, the Greek